4. SEPAK TAKRAW 2025 WORLD CUP

NEWS: Bihar will host the ISTAF “Sepak Takraw 2025” World Cup in Patna from March 20 to March 25, 2025.

About Sepak Takraw 2025” World Cup

The 2025 ISTAF World Cup was the fifth edition of the ISTAF World Cup

The first championships started in 2011 in Malaysian Kuala Lumpur.

Conducted By: The world cup is conducted by the International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF) 

Participants: Twenty countries across 4 continents including India are taking part in the event.

About SepakTakraw

SepakTakraw Is a Traditional Malaysian team sport, similar to volleyball, where players use their feet, knees, chests, and heads to keep a rattan ball in the air and over a net

The game is also called buka ball, kick volleyball or foot volleyball

Popular In: The sport is popular in South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei and Indonesia. 

Origin: It originated in Southeast Asia, and its modern version was standardized in 1960 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ball: The game is played with a rattan ball (or sometimes a synthetic plastic ball) and a net.

Teams: Two teams of four players each try to score by hitting the ball over the net and landing it within the opponent’s court. 

Court Area: The game is played on a court that resembles a badminton court, with a net in the center.

In India: Sepaktakraw was introduced in India in the 1980s as a  demonstration sport at the Delhi Asian Games in 1982. 

Headquarters: The Sepak Takraw Federation of India is  headquartered in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/sports/other-sports-news/pm-congratulates-indian-contingent-for-sepak-takraw-world-cup-triumph-125032601347_1.html